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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Sonoma Bento I've actually been to Bruno's fairly often, as it is right in my neighborhood. It's a casual spot, but generally has good quality food, and generous portions. The interior is cozy and welcoming with cute window seats and warm colors, but it can get a bit loud. There was a table of 14 celebrating a 27th Anniversary while we were there, which may have contributed to the service issues we had. We visited on a Sunday evening after a really rainy day, so I was definitely in the mood for some good comfort food.

CocoCarina Unlike Sonoma Bento... I have never been to Bruno's On Fourth before this little excursion of ours. One of my co-workers told me about it and said it was one of her favorite places to go, so I had wanted to try it for a while but it just never worked out. Luckily we've now started this blog so I can go to restaurants I've been wanting to try out!

Food:

Sonoma Bento I chose the seafood special of the evening, six seared scallops in a basil cream sauce with sun-dried tomato and artichoke heart risotto, and bits of dungeness crab. The plate was topped with a few leaves of salad mix, which didn't add to the flavor, or really make the plate look that much better. I think they could have left the garnish off and I still would have liked the way it looked. It was very rich, and I couldn't finish the whole thing. Bruno's tends to be heavy handed with the sauce, and as you can see, my plate was swimming in it. The scallops were very tasty, I just could have done without so much sauce. I really enjoyed the risotto and crab, as well. For dessert we tried a very decadent brownie sandwich. It had fudge sauce, caramel sauce, chopped candied pecans, and two gooey brownies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream between the brownies. Wow! It was definitely enough for two people to share.

CocoCarina I chose the sauteed chicken with sherry wine and mushrooms dish. Unfortunately when the food came out they served me the seafood ravioli. I'm just getting into trying seafood so I wasn't quite prepared to just take the dish. Normally if it was something I would normally eat but was the wrong order I'll just take it rather than send it back... who knows it could be a nice surprise!? But needless to say I wasn't quite feeling an all seafood dish so I asked for the dish I ordered, the Chicken .... And like Sonoma Bento said they just got new computer systems in and the server accidentally pressed the wrong button. I wasn't upset... the bread at the table was delicious so I ate a bit more bread to hold me over til my food came. When it came I was very pleased. It smelled delicious and I couldn't wait to dive in! The chicken and mushrooms went perfectly with the Pinot Noir I ordered. The Wine and mushrooms paired perfectly! I was very happy with my meal choice and even had enough left to take home and eat for lunch the next day! I love leftovers! After our meal our server comped us a dessert because of the entree mix-up - I was stoked! We decided on the delectable brownie sandwich! And boy, oh boy was it delicious!!! It was two perfectly cooked brownies with vanilla ice cream in the middle, candied pecans with caramel and chocolate drizzle. Y-U-M-M-Y!!! When i go back to Bruno's, because I will go back, I sure hope this is on the menu because I WILL order it again!

Wine:

Sonoma Bento I wanted a creamy chardonnay to go with the risotto and seafood, and the waitress poured samples of both chardonnays for me to try. I went with the 2007 Starkey's Court Chardonnay, which really complimented the rich dish. I would definitely order that chardonnay again. (The first glass I was served had a bug floating in it, which CocoCarina noticed. I was given a new glass of wine when I pointed this out to the waitress.)

CocoCarina I chose the 2008 MacMurray Pinot Noir. I've had this wine before, so I was pretty comfortable ordering it. I think this was the only pinot on the list and I was in a pinot mood, so it was PERFECT!

Service:

Sonoma Bento Possibly due to the fact there there was a huge table of 14 people taking up most of the room, or the new computer system Bruno's installed, CocoCarina got the wrong order. The waitress did put in the correct order and CocoCarina got her correct order within about 10 minutes, but it did put a hamper on the meal. The waitstaff apologized many times and they comped us a dessert, which was nice.

Overall:

Sonoma Bento I am giving Bruno's higher overall scores, because this was honestly the first time I have had any service issues here. Every other time I have gone to Bruno's I have been given the correct order and never before found a bug in my wine. And the wait staff did work hard to correct any mistakes. This is a good place to go when you have a comfort food craving and want to have a full belly. And the convenience of its location is also a big plus for me. Out of 5 stars, I will give it 3 and a half.

CocoCarina Scores for Bruno's On Fourth:

Atmosphere: **** - it was a cute little restaurant... emphasis on little. It probably sat about 20 people total. But I kind of like that... you just better be prepared if you plan on going there with a big group.

Food: **** I thought the food was pretty tasty. Not the best I've had in my life but definitely nothing much to complain about.

Service: **** The service was pretty good. I believe the owner was helping to serve us, in addition to our waitress. I was happy that they comped my dessert after the entree mix-up. It was nice they tried to make-up for the little flub.

Price: *** I think the prices are pretty comparable for the kind of food you're getting. It's good quality comfort food but not too high class where you feel like you gotta save a paycheck just to eat there, but then again it's not a place you could regularly afford to visit... well at least not with my paycheck.

Parking: ** There's some decent street parking but it's on an unlit street which was not comfortable to walk down by myself after leaving the restaurant. They have maybe one or two spots in the back of their restaurant where you can park. Other than that you have to park on the street.

Cost of dinner for two with 1 glass of wine each: $63.75. If you want a dessert, add an additional $6. The bread served at the table made a delicious free appetizer. Yum!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Soooo as I mentioned in my "about me" section... I LOVE to eat! Problem is... sometimes I don't know where to go, which restaurant is good, what's delicious, yet affordable? My friend Sonoma Bento is quite knowledgeable about food and we have oh so much fun together that I thought we should go out once a month and try a new restaurant and blog about it! There are so many amazing restaurants in Sonoma County yet I always find myself going to the same ones. Please join us on our adventure of food domination! Hopefully our little blog will help you figure out where to eat when you feel like you want to try something new!

-- CocoCarina

There are a few reasons I thought CocoCarina’s idea to start Two Girls, One Restaurant was a SUPER idea. One: because I love hanging out with CocoCarina. She’s hilarious and we always have a good time on our adventures. Two: there are soooo many wonderful restaurants in Sonoma County and our readers need to know about them. Three: I can’t always afford to eat out, but I can usually splurge at least once a month after payday.

I’m really looking forward to sharing our restaurant reviews with you! I hope you take some time to visit our favorite places.